


Garrison for the Holidays

by deecherrywolf



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Galaxy Garrison, Hinted sexual content, M/M, No Actual Sexy Times, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9098659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deecherrywolf/pseuds/deecherrywolf
Summary: For Klancemasweek2016/17! - - -Lance decides to stay at the Garrison for the holiday break to try to one up Keith. Unfortunately for him, Keith is staying too.





	1. Mistletoe/Stocking

**Author's Note:**

> I was posting on Tumblr only, but was getting zero feedback - which is usually okay (I have a nsfw blog that I don't show anyone lmao) so I'll cross post here to see if at least anyone has been reading it at all ;u;
> 
> Lance's last name comes from BlueRoboKitty's headcanon :D
> 
> For those who are reading my Beyond Bonding - the update will be this monday! (It's bi-weekly!)

“Dude, you aren’t going home for Christmas?”

The question needled at Lance, just as much as his mother had when he had said just as much. His brows furrowed and he bit back the urge to give in and go home for Christmas. If he were honest, he’d say, yeah - he _wanted_ to go home for Christmas, he _didn’t want_ to stay at the stupid Garrison over Christmas break, but when he thought of his mother spending the money on the plane ticket home, he felt he could spare her from that.

But more importantly, _Keith_ wasn’t going home for Christmas. Stupid Keith and his perfect flying scores, his perfect piloting.

Ever since he’d join the Garrison’s flight school in September, Keith had been a thorn in his side - especially since he’d been one upped so hard by the gifted student that it had burnt his pride.

So never again, never again would he let Keith one up him. He was going to show him that he could stay here too and practice flying all break long.

“My mom needs to save money for my siblings and my siblings kids. I’m eighteen, you know - I think I can handle one Christmas on my own, the real tragedy is my family not having me on Christmas.”

Hunk snorted, raising a brow. “Suit yourself, there is no way I’m missing out on my family’s Christmas dinner, and brunch… and of course the presents.”

Lance merely shrugged, not wanting to tell Hunk the real reason was stupid Keith. He’d never hear the end of it from his friend.

The two of them were heading out, Hunk carrying his bags. They stopped once right outside the Garrison, Hunk giving Lance this sympathetic smile that he knew he’d receive as well one of Hunk’s best hugs.

“Your Christmas present is under my bed, don’t open it until Christmas, and try to eat something festive.”

“At the Garrison? Please.”

Hunk laughed, his eyes still full of sympathetic worry. Lance knew Hunk only worried because he cared, but Lance was an adult, well, as an adult as eighteen would allow - but an adult regardless. He could handle being alone on Christmas.

:::::

The halls were eerie when empty and lacked any Christmas cheer.

Lance had quickly decided to fix that a bit as he strolled past them, box full of Christmas decorations he had brought to decorate his room now being used for the halls. The instructors who had remained on site gave him the okay (thank god Iverson went home on Christmas this year), and Lance was ready to get the place feeling more festive.

He finished up a hallway, hanging a tacky mistletoe above a doorway and then turned around, taking out his cellphone to take a selfie. He’d send this to Hunk to show him how festive he was, even at the Garrison.

“What are you doing?”

Lance nearly dropped his phone as he squawked, eyes wide as he looked at the intruder. Keith stood there, the door he had just decorated now open - the flight simulator humming in the background. Lance bit his cheek wanting to say something to Keith, tell him how much he sucked, how he’d eventually top him. But instead, he merely scoffed.

“Decorating.”

Keith blinked slowly. “Don’t you have a flight or train to catch, something?”

“I’m staying here. I figured I’d take advantage of the empty flight simulators before the big test next semester.”

Keith nodded in understanding but he was looking at Lance the way he always did - as if he wasn’t actually looking at him but _through_ him, as if he didn’t matter. Lance hated that look. Hated how self absorbed Keith was, hated his stupid haircut, hated him!

“Good luck.”

Lance’s face scrunched up, wanting to yell at him. Was he saying that because he thought Lance needed all the luck he could get? As if topping Keith in flight simulation was an impossibility!?

“Aw look, two cadets standing under the mistletoe.” teased an approaching instructor to another.

The other laughed, her eyes on Keith and Lance, recognizing them instantly. “Kogane, Reyes. Looks like you can settle your differences right now.”

Lance paled, looking up at the mistletoe he had hung not even five minutes ago, and then at Keith, whose brows were wrinkled in confusion. Lance glanced at the instructors, their eyes seemed to gleam in amusement and Lance somehow knew he wasn’t going to get away without having to kiss Keith.

Lance felt Keith jump when he grabbed his shoulders, pulling him in and pressing his lips on his. Keith didn’t move, hell, he didn’t breath.

Lance, on the other hand, breathed it all in. He felt stunned as he kissed Keith’s lips. They were soft. Too soft to belong to stupid Keith. Soft, inviting, and minty. Lance didn’t even realize his tongue had swiped across the bottom of Keith’s lip as he pulled away - looking into dark eyes that he never realized had a purple cast to their grayness. They were kind of pretty too.

When one of the instructors whistled, Lance blanched, ripping himself away from Keith and wiped at his mouth.

“Ohh, gross!”

Keith blinked, his eyes wide, mouth still slightly puckered, and cheeks becoming mottled. “You kissed me, and you are the one saying gross?”

“Screw you, Keith!”

Lance made an obscene gesture as he bolted away, leaving Keith standing there in confusion, rubbing his lower lip. The instructors laughed as they passed him, one of them patting him on the shoulder. Keith didn’t even acknowledge them, too aware of the ghost of Lance’s lips slanting against his, the feel of that tongue brushing his bottom lip.

He cleared his throat and headed back towards his dorm.

:::::

Lance screamed once in his dorm, his soul vacating his body. How could his own decorations backfire on him like that?! That mistletoe was meant for the stray student who may have stayed behind- maybe even one of the younger instructors, not Keith.

Stupid Keith with his stupid mullet and stupid soft lips. Kissable lips.

Lance bit back another scream, wanting nothing more than to forget the whole thing. He was sure Keith would. Hoped he would.

After having his fit, he grew hungry, his eyes narrowing on the door. Leaving the room meant possibly running into Keith again and possibly another mistletoe. He grunted, squinting his eyes at the door one last time before, finally, giving in.

Lance walked into the cafeteria. He wasn’t shocked to see only a couple of students with depressed expressions on their faces. Most of the other cadets had left by now. Only those who either had no funds to go home or had no home life had stayed. Or in his case, wanted to improve and beat Keith.

“Thank you to the students and faculty who decided to stay with us this holiday season. We have a treat for tonight, our Christmas dinner. I’d also like to remind you of the shut down on the 23rd. Make sure to dress accordingly.”

Lance grabbed his tray, mouth quirking in a frown. The “Christmas dinner” was dry looking ham with instant mashed potatoes and slop that looked like macaroni of some sort. He sighed. He’d miss the Christmas dinner his family would have, it was always the best. He’d have to make do.

He was mid bite when Keith entered; the ham in his mouth souring at the mere sight of him. But the more he stared at him, the more he realized this was the first time he’d actually seen Keith in the cafeteria. His surprise was shared by other cadets - watching Keith as if he were an alien. Though not all of them stared like that, some with a curiosity that could only be described as fascinated admiration. It disgusted Lance. Even more so as a girl was pushed towards him by her friends, the girl blushing and looking nervous.

“Kogane, I knit this stocking for you.”

Lance’s lips curled at the sight of the cute girl offering Keith a handmade stocking. Until, he looked at the stocking. Oh, that poor yarn. The stocking got an E for effort but dang, Lance could do a much better job that that poor sock.

Keith’s brows raised. “What would I need that for?”

The girl continued to blush, eyes lowering. “Well, we usually hang our stockings in the main room so if we want to do a gift exchange, we can place the present in the stocking.”

Good luck fitting anything in that misshapen disaster. It probably is knitted closed.

The girl was now glaring at him. Oh crap, did he say that aloud?

Another girl spoke, her voice high and snotty. “As if you could do any better.”

“Actually, I could. Maybe I could teach you both.”

What had meant to sound suave came out condescending. The girl who knit for Keith tossed the stocking down and stalked off. Lance frowned, glaring at Keith.

Keith raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t look at me like it’s my fault. I didn’t make you say that.”

Lance sighed, looking down at the misshapen red and white lump. This was going to be a long winter break.


	2. Tradition / Nostalgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters eventually started getting smaller and smaller, but hey - they were only meant to be short drabbles for the klancemasweek

Keith wasn’t big into Christmas, not really. He had never really had a stable home life - being passed from foster home to foster home didn’t allow him to stabilize any good Christmas traditions or memories - and more often than not, he’d be in the orphanage again in time for Christmas. Sure, there were a few Christmases when he was younger where he had been with a foster family. There were probably even pictures somewhere of him with some of them - a tacky postcard of ‘Season Greetings’ with him standing awkwardly to a barren couple or just a family who helps foster kids out. Either way, Keith never really found the joys of the holiday season.

But now, at the oddest of places, he was forced to see and hear the holidays.

He had stayed at the Garrison for two reasons 1) he had no other place to go and 2) he wanted to escape the holiday scene. Yet here he was, having to listen to someone’s phone playing Christmas music in the simulator room.

His eyes narrowed as he strolled closer, a scowl firm in place as he noticed who the culprit was.

That… one guy.

Yeah, he couldn’t remember his name.

Why should he? He didn’t go to the Garrison to make friends, he went to become a fighter pilot - to gain the skills to leave everything behind and just… live.

The song entered its climax as the simulator opened up - revealing the guy to be singing along with the stupid phone’s song and his score… well, it definitely showed he wasn’t paying attention at all.

The guy’s eyes opened, widening at the sight of Keith. Their dark blues narrowed on Keith, which made Keith feel annoyed more than anything. Why was he the annoyed? This newbie pilot had no idea what he was doing, clearly.

“Are you done?”

The guy scowled at him. “Nope, just taking a breather to listen to more Christmas tunes.”

“I want a turn in the simulator.”

“Um, excuse you, you were in it all day yesterday.”

“I was not.”

“You were too.”

Keith scowled, thinking back to yesterday. Yeah, he had spent a fair amount of time in the simulator but other than that… Ah, he had kissed this guy. What had the instructors called him? Rye? Reid? Whatever, it didn’t matter. He noticed the guy was turning a little red - ah, he must have remembered the kiss too. Keith felt a shudder at the mere thought. A kiss shared with a strange shouldn’t have felt that… compelling.

“Fine, but I want in in about an hour, then we can switch off again. That’s fair, yeah?”

The guy huffed, muttering an ‘I guess’, until his phone rang. His eyes lit up at the screen and he began chattering in an accented english, one that started to slip into a language Keith didn’t know. The guy seemed to be distracted by his call enough that Keith shoved him out of the simulator.

“Hey!!”

Screw this guy. He shut the simulator, exhaling in relief. He started up the simulator but found himself distracted by a smell that hadn’t been in the simulator before. He was use to the smell of the faux leather of the seats, the plastic, the metal, sweat… not… whatever this was. His nostrils flared as he practiced, mind focused on figuring out the scents. It was like stepping into a citrusy lavender field, but the woodsy smell made him realize what it was. Cologne. That guy’s cologne. He swallowed as he felt himself inhale again, not even thinking about it as he seemed to enjoy the scent.

He cursed when he found himself performing poorly. 

He leaned back against the chair as the simulation ended, his score was okay, better than what’s his face. But that wasn’t saying much. The simulation door opened and there stood the guy, again. Keith frowned.

“Shouldn’t you be off being festive with the other cadets?”

The guy looked a little pained at that, but he scowled at Keith. “No, I’m here to practice my piloting and get better at it than _you_ , and I’ll do it.”

Keith’s brows raised at that. Oh, okay, he remembered the guys name now. This was Lance Reyes, his one-sided rival. It was one-sided because Keith wasn’t in competition with any of his classmates. He just wanted to get into fighter class and have a chance out there. But right now, Keith couldn’t help but notice the look on the guy’s face - he looked pathetic, sad, and just… like he wanted to go home. Why didn’t he?

And even though Keith didn’t celebrate Christmas normally, he did have one tradition that did stick - and that was to be kind on Christmas. He clenched his fists and swallowed back his pride. “Hey, do you… wanna go get some food, or something?”

Lance seemed to rear back at that, his nose wrinkling in distaste and Keith suddenly felt like a fool. He tossed his hands up as he got out of the simulator quickly.

“You know what, forget I said anything.”

“No, wait, wait, wait! That… that actually sounds nice.”

Keith looked at him, really looked at him. He had dark circles under his eyes, pinked whites and red-rimmed… he had been crying recently. Keith licked his bottom lip.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

Keith felt a weird tremor go down his spine as Lance walked beside him. He wasn’t use to someone walking the halls of the Garrison with him, it was a new sensation and one not all too bad. He rounded the corner - heading for the doors. Lance stopped him, making him raise an eyebrow.

“Are we allowed to leave?”

Keith shrugged. “They can’t stop us, we’re on break.”

“But… but we signed the waiver of staying here for break.”

“We’re just going to go to the local convenience store for some food.”

Lance didn’t argue, only followed Keith to a hidden hoverbike. Keith motioned for him to get on, which Lance did a little too enthusiastically. For all his complaining about leaving school grounds, he was into it now. Oh well, it made this easier.

Lance whooped as Keith took off. The drive was short, but Keith could feel Lance’s arms tighten around his middle, the weight of Lance’s chest pressed against his back - heart thudding through. It felt nice.

“Okay, so we’re definitely getting junk food, right?”

“Unless they have some sort of Christmas delicacy in here, yeah.”

Lance sighed, walking into the store. “What I wouldn’t give for my aunt and mom’s roasted pig. You haven’t lived until you’ve had it.”

Keith’s lips twitched, but a more somber question pushed forward. “Why didn’t you go home? You could be smelling roasted pork by now.”

Lance looked through the puddings, stopping to look at Keith, curiosity in his eyes. “Why didn’t you?”

Keith’s lips pursed and he felt himself want to close off. He didn’t have to tell Lance anything. The other boy didn’t know him and probably didn’t really care to know him, he was just being polite. And yet, something about Lance made Keith feel open. He shrugged, speaking the truth. “I don’t really have a family to go home to, I pretty much live in the Garrison.”

Lance’s mouth seemed to drop at that, eyes widening a fraction. Keith almost groaned at that expression, he didn’t want Lance’s pity - which he could tell was brimming in those eyes now, along with some sappy tears.

Lance sniffled, then, instead of apologizing, he seemed to looked determined all of a sudden - Keith wasn’t sure what he disliked more. After they made their purchases and sneaking back into the Garrison, Lance grinned at Keith.

“Okay so, this isn’t what I’d normally eat for Christmas dessert, but here, I got one for you.”

Keith caught the little square tossed to him. He looked at it. Figgy Pudding - Rum flavored. He raised an eyebrow, watching Lance leave. He looked back at the figgy pudding, his lips quirking. Christmas truly was a time of peace and this was proof of a silent truce between the two. He brought the pudding up to his lips as he walked into his room, wondering when he should try it.


	3. Cold / Warmth

Lance woke to a cold that was colder than cold. His teeth chattered as he got out of bed, making his way over to his little bathroom. He looked at the thermostat that was on the wall beside the bathroom, frowning at the temp. It was a damn desert, how was it so cold? He groused to himself as he headed to the shower, only to find there was no hot water. His heart beat quicker as he wondered what in the hell was going on until he remembered - it was December 23rd, one of the instructors had said they’d be having a ‘shut down’ on the 23rd…

Lance groaned, giving up on a hot shower and instead just dressed. He could go one day without a shower - it wouldn’t be that bad.

He left his dorm room to walk into the common room to see a few others grousing like he was. He spotted the girls he had snubbed as well as a few other people he vaguely recognized. He then caught sight of _Keith_. Keith normally made him think of negative things - losing, kicked puppies, rainclouds… but now? Keith made him think of the high of riding on a hoverbike and the taste of rum cake . Okay, it had been figgy pudding with rum flavoring, which was gross in comparison - but eh, he had to make do, right?

Still, it was kind of nice having some positive things to associate Keith with now instead of the bitter anger he had always felt around the other pilot.

“Yo, Keith! My man!”

Keith’s brows raised as he looked at Lance - looked at him as if he didn’t recognize him and ohh, no. Lance wasn’t allowing that stint. They had bonded over food, he wasn’t letting Keith get away now. He walked right up to him, leaning in as he furrowed his brow.

“It’s cold as balls out there.”

Keith’s nose wrinkled. “Balls aren’t cold…?”

Lance scoffed, restraining a laugh before eying Keith. “Why aren’t you a shivering mess like I am?”

“Probably because I’m not cold.”

“How can you not be? It’s the middle of December and they have turned the heating off to conserve power for one day.”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know, I just know I’m not cold.”

Lance clicked his tongue and reach over and placed a hand on Keith’s neck. Two things happened then - 1) Keith jumped at the sensation of icy fingers on the back of his neck.and 2) Lance learned Keith was just really warm. A sudden light bulb went off in his head as he drew in closer to Keith, feeling the heat radiate off the other just by standing near him. Oh, how he wanted to feel this heat. But then Keith backed away, causing Lance to frown.

“What are you doing?” Keith’s face was mottled with red, causing Lance to raise an eyebrow.

“I’m freezing and you’re like a heater, so c’mere.”

Keith warily moved closer again, watching Lance closely. When the other didn’t maul him, he relaxed - feeling Lance’s shoulder press against his. The taller boy groaned happily, even from that mere shoulder touch. Keith’s lips twitched, an amused smile growing on his lips.

“How are you so warm? This is unfair.”

“I’m use to the cold, I guess.”

“No, you are a living space heater, it’s the only explanation.”

Keith snorted, looking away from Lance. He should be going to simulator room, he should be practicing - not entertaining Lance with… whatever this was.

Lance sighed as he slumped a little, watching as other cadet huddled in their heavy coats even indoors. Everyone had been prepared for this, except Lance, who had forgotten. And Keith, he guessed, but he didn’t need it. He was just fine. The hot weirdo. Wait… that didn’t sound right.

“We could go practice some hand to hand combat?”

Lance frowned, glaring at Keith as he shivered. “Who the hell worries about hand to hand combat at flight school?”

“Hey, you never know when it will be useful.”

“Yeah okay, hold on a second while I launch myself out of my cockpit to fight this other pilot.”

Keith snorted. “Well, when you make it sound like that.”

Lance snickered, beginning to feel awkward pressed all against Keith, even more so when the others would look at them, girls were glowering and boys wore teasing looks. Hell, he was sure if Hunk was here, he’d tease him too and if it were someone else in his position, Lance himself would tease the other. Still, the offer to heat up was too great. He sighed and nodded to Keith.

“Yeah, okay, I could use some hand to hand practice, I guess.”

 

When Keith got up, Lance almost protested. The loss of heat was so instant that Lance had to hold back a whine. Why was Keith so warm? It was so unfair. He got up to his feet, aware of how cold his toes were as he walked, following Keith to the gym. The gym was a small space, mostly used by the faculty, but students were allowed to use it. There were a couple of people on weights, but no one on the mats were students wrestled or practiced martial arts or whatever. Lance usually used them to do some calisthenics.

Keith took up a stance, looking Lance right in the eye. Lance swallowed and stood up a stance himself, but the moment he did, Keith dropped his and his nose wrinkled.

“What kind of stance is that?”

“Huh? It’s… uuh… Lance… style?”

“Yeah, well, Lance style sucks.”

“Hey! Screw you!”

Keith tutted, walking over to Lance, standing behind him now. “Have you ever done hand to hand in your life?”

“I punch my brother before, does that count?”

Keith hummed before shaking his head no. Lance felt Keith’s hand wrap around his wrist - guiding his arm in a certain fashion. Lance was hyper aware of the leg being pushed between his, parting his legs just right. Lance’s heart thumped as Keith spoke, breath caressing the shell of his ear. “Now hold this stance.”

Lance did, watching Keith back away to observe his handiwork. It was then that Lance realized he wasn’t cold anymore, his heart pumping hard and body flushing at the proximity The warmth stayed with him even as Keith walked away, resuming his stance. He swallowed sharply, eyes blinking as Keith launched himself at him - causing him to squawk and break his stance.

“I wasn’t ready!”

“Then get ready! Do I have to fix your stance again?”

Lance let him, he actually let him - watching Keith’s face as he did so. He had long eyelashes, his hair didn’t look so stupid at this distance, it looked soft and inviting… Lance’s fingers itched to thread through those silky locks. He watched Keith pull back again, those grey-purple eyes boring into his blues.

“Okay, now get your head in the game.”

Lance did, and he regretted it. Ten minutes in, Lance gave in. Sore and sweaty now, he huffed, slumping against the wall. Keith crossed his arms, frowning down at Lance.

“You’re out of shape.”

“I am not!”

“You couldn’t even last ten minutes!”

“You… are a _machine_! How am I supposed to go up against some fighting monster machine?”

Keith huffed, carding his fingers through his hair before he turned away, walking to the towels. He tossed one to Lance, who caught it - mopping up the sweat on his brow. He noticed Keith leaving.

“Hey, where you going?”

“To the flight simulator - since you appear to be done.”

Lance jumped up, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t think you’re hogging it all today, Mullet!”

Keith was already out the door and Lance chased after him, not wanting to be one upped, both completely forgetting the power had been turned off..


	4. Sweaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was between Sweaters / Music - sweaters won, naturally!

It felt surreal waking up on Christmas Eve to see the ceiling of his Garrison dorm room. Lance laid in his bed longer than necessary just glaring up at the wall, mouth set in a firm frown as he wondered why he had even decided to do this. Yeah sure, the original plan had been to one up Keith - get in a lot of flight simulation practice, get into fighter pilot class, and then knock Keith on his ass. But that changed once he had actually _talked_ with Keith.

Keith was actually a decent guy. He wasn’t nearly as hostile Lance thought he’d be, even if the guy had a bit of a temper and had an impulsive streak - but overall? Keith was a nice guy. And what really got to him was how utterly _alone_ he was as well. Keith had no one during the holidays. He had said so himself, saying he pretty much lived at the Garrison - that made Lance feel a little sorry for him.

So even though his intent had started out with him wanting to kick Keith’s ass, it ended up with him wanting to give Keith a good Christmas. Even at the Garrison - if that was possible. Of course kicking Keith’s ass in flight simulation was still on the agenda, but now he wanted to also befriend the stupid mullet head.

He hummed to himself as he headed towards the simulation room - knowing Keith would be there, carrying a lumpy packed present while on his way. A few cadets noticed him, raising their brows, but said nothing else. He opened the door and headed towards the simulator - hearing it whir. He knew it was Keith in there, and because it was Keith, he decided to be obnoxious - He knocked on it. When it didn’t open - he knocked again. Harder, louder, and with rhythm - until it finally opened, revealing a sour faced Keith.

“The simulator is not a drum.”

“It could be.”

“Can’t you wait your turn?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to give you _this_ as soon as I could.”

Keith’s nose wrinkled as he took the lumpy package from Lance. The wrapping would have looked nice if the present wasn’t so lumpy itself. He looked up at the other, noticing a rather self-impressed look on his face. Keith snorted.

“What is this? It’s not even Christmas.”

“Yeah, this is for you to wear _on_ Christmas.”

Wear? Oh, dear lord. Keith opened the package now, eyes narrowing on the thick red yarn used. He picked up the big red sweater, opening it up to show a stitched design with snowmen worked into it. He looked at Lance, brows raising.

“Did you make this?”

“Uh, yeah?”

Keith looked back at the present. “You weren’t kidding when you said you could knit.”

When had he ever…? Oh yeah, the incident with the girls. He still felt bad about that. Keith looked at the sweater one more time before handing it toward Lance. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“What?! No! You have to accept it and wear it tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You have to!”

Keith’s brows furrowed and lip curled. “Why?”

“Because it matches with mine.”

“Even more reason for me _not_ to wear it. Here, I don’t want it.”

Lance growled now, eyes on fire. “Just take it! I slaved over it, working my little knitting needles as fast as I could to get it done for you by Christmas Eve, so you’re going to take it and wear, and you’re going to like it!”

Keith had already started laughing at the visuals of Lance knitting fast. But if what he said was true… this was nice craftsmanship for such a short time period. He sighed, taking hold of the sweater once more, stuffing it beneath his arm. Lance grinned. “Good. Now it’s my turn in the simulator.”

“No.”

“Wait… then… how about… we do it together?”

Keith’s brows raised at that. Technically, they could set it to pilot and navigator mode, but for Keith, he’d rather always have the simulator set on just one person - he worked better on his own. He could work with others just fine, his scores even said so and people listened to him, but Lance never listened to him, this just had ‘bad idea’ written all over it. But before Keith could say anything, Lance was climbing in, his eyes alight.

“I get to pilot.”

“You invited yourself in so, no, you are the navigator then.”

Lance huffed, but surprisingly didn’t put up any other fight. They took off in their simulation and crashed within minutes - leading to Keith kicking Lance out, who protested. Keith laughed, taking another solo spin on the simulator before relinquishing it to Lance - leaving him alone as he headed back to his room. Once inside, he looked at the ugly sweater once more. Okay, it wasn’t ugly - but it looked way too warm and possibly itchy. It reminded him of those sweaters his foster families would make him wear for lame photo sessions.

He grunted, bringing the sweater up to his face. He looked at the door once before he brought the sweater up to his nose and took a deep breath. It smelled of that citrusy lavender field again. He breathed again, gulping in the scent of Lance's cologne, before pulling it back. He knew what this kind of behavior meant and he didn’t care, he shamelessly laid down on his dorm bed, holding the sweater close to his face and breathed in deeply.


	5. Gingerbread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 - Snow / Gingerbread
> 
> This one was probably my favorite one to write!

Keith couldn’t believe he was actually wearing the sweater.

He looked down at it on his chest, stretching over his body perfectly. How did it fit so well? How had Lance known what size to make? But then again, it was a sweater and it couldn’t have been that hard to just guess. He rubbed over his right arm and then exited his room. The sight of the sparse Christmas decorations that Lance had hung up were still there - garland lining hand rails, wreaths on doors, and of course… those mistletoes. Keith licked his bottom lip, ignoring the weird flaring in his stomach at the thought of mistletoe kisses. He walked the hall, hearing a commotion in the common room. He walked in to see a group of cadets and one instructor exchanging gifts. He also noticed a bowl on the table with off-white liquid and a plate of gingerbread cookies.

“Keith!”

Keith’s eyes darted to the source, Lance was striding over, wearing his own Christmas sweater - that matched Keith’s exactly. Keith suddenly had the urge to rip the sweater off, feeling embarrassed at having this lame matching set.

When Lance threw an arm around Keith, he stiffened. Lance smelled, well, sweet. He also smelled like liquor. Keith’s nose wrinkled, pushing at the other.

“You reek of alcohol.”

“Mus’ be the eggnog. Try it, it’s good.”

Figured the Garrison would have eggnog that had probably too much bourbon and not enough sugar and cream. Lance pushed a cup in Keith’s hand, who looked down at the liquid.

Lance grinned. “Tis the season, and all that.”

And all that. Keith shrugged, glancing at the instructor who held a mug in his hand and other cadets that did as well. Well, if they were allowing them to drink on Christmas, then sure, why not. He tipped back his glass, tasting the all too sweet drink go down. He winced at the sweetness, but also the burn of the whiskey. Oh wow, that warmed him right up.

“S’good, yeah?” breathed Lance - his eyes a little glassy and smile a little funny. Keith felt amusement bubble in him.

“How many cups have you had?”

Lance huffed. “You saying I’m drunk or something?”

Keith gave him an unimpressed look. He honestly didn’t know what to say to that because, well, it was quite obvious that Lance was at the very least tipsy. Maybe not ‘drunk’. Lance scoffed at the nonanswer, bringing his cup to his lips.

“Whatever, I love eggnog.”

“I can see that.”

“Have you tried the cookies yet too?”

Lance picked up a gingerbread cookie, wiggling it in front of Keith’s face. The cookie was shaped like a reindeer. Lance bit off the head with a pronounced crunch, washing it down with more eggnog. Keith’s nose wrinkled again and he wondered just how long Lance had been out here with the eggnog. He didn’t know Lance well enough to know if the guy could hold liquor or not - for all he knew, this was Lance’s second cup. He took a cookie, still watching Lance as he snacked on his cookie too, crumbs cascading down as he munched, some sticking to the corner of his sticky mouth.

Keith took a bite of the gingerbread cookie. The last time he had ate gingerbread was… wow, how long ago was it now? As he chewed it, he decided it was just as subpar as he remembered it being. If he wanted a cookie, gingerbread wasn’t what he’d first reach for - but as Lance had said “tis the season”. He sighed as he finished his cookie, looking at Lance once more who was dipping into more eggnog, a cookie hanging from his mouth.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough eggnog?”

Lance frowned at him. “I’m jus’ tryin’ to take the edge off.”

“Edge?”

“Yeah, the edge.”

Keith blinked. Lance was nervous about something? He watched the other cadet carefully now - the way those dark blue eyes seemed a little out of focus, which was probably the bourbon, but maybe there was something more behind it? Keith wasn’t sure though. He sighed and took Lance’s glass, knocking it back himself - hearing Lance protest. Keith swallowed, his throat burning a bit, but grabbing Lance and dragging him off.

They entered the simulator room, where Lance huffed.

“As much as I want to kick your ass at piloting, it’s Christmas.”

Keith raised an eyebrow at not only the slurred mess that had been, but at what had been said. He watched Lance take a seat, saying as Lance looked at the cookie still in his hand.

“Well, maybe there will be a Christmas miracle.”

“Hardy har,” groused Lance - eyes narrowing at Keith. “If you think you can go easy on me jus’ cause it’s Christmas, you have another thing coming.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. “I’d never go easy on you.”

Lance grinned, popping the rest of the cookie in his mouth. “Bring it on!”

Keith excitedly started the simulator, stepping back and motioning for Lance to get in. Which in itself was a Christmas gift as well - he never let Lance go first. Lance placed a hand on his chest and feigned being touched, which made Keith roll his eyes. Lance ambled in, tripping a bit before finally settling. He gave Keith a thumbs up and Keith shut the simulator.

It turned out to be a mistake though, within a couple of minutes - Keith heard retching - making him panic. He forced the simulator to open and helped Lance out. Keith’s nose wrinkled at the smell, but looked down at Lance, who now hung off of him.

“Ungh, damn my weakness for eggnog.”

Keith snorted in amusement. He looked at the soiled simulator, feeling a bit bad that he’d have to leave it for the janitorial staff - for now he had to tend to Lance, after all.

He helped Lance toward his dorm, walking slowly. Lance let out a soft sob.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I wanted to give you a nice Christmas. A real Christmas.”

“Lance, we’re at the Garrison.”

“So? Christmas can be wherever you are.”

“Now you sound like a sappy Christmas card.”

Lance looked at him, his glassy eyes looked more than just drunk, they actually looked sad. “I had wanted to give you a fun Christmas experience, but I didn’t know how. I thought maybe eggnog would help me relax and get in the spirit.”

Keith’s brows raised and he smiled. “I think you had too much spirit.”

Lance groaned as Keith lowered him to his bed. He looked up at Keith, his mouth set in a frown. “Are you having a good Christmas?”

“Yeah Lance, I am.”

“Liar.”

Keith didn’t argue against that nor did he confirm it, he just carded his fingers through Lance’s hair, rubbing his scalp soothingly as Lance slowly drifted off to sleep. Keith continued to rub his face though, even as he slept. He looked into Lance’s face, amusement and strange fondness bubbling inside of him.

Despite the fact Lance literally tossed his cookies, Keith was having a good Christmas. Christmas time for him usually meant being alone, doing normal everyday things with maybe a bit of Christmas cheer if he happened to receive a greeting from someone, but this year? Lance had given him a present, he had eggnog - he ate gingerbread cookies, and he was with someone.

That sense of being with someone, sharing the holidays, meant more to Keith than he’d ever admit. He took a deep breath, climbing onto the bed with Lance, wrapping an arm around the other loosely, rubbing the side of Lance’s face, patting it gently as he continued to soothe him. He looked up at the ceiling, amusement still dancing through him.

“Merry Christmas, Lance.”


	6. New Year's Eve / Stars

After the eggnog incident, there was an unspoken respect for Keith in Lance. He was definitely a lot more understanding around Keith now, or maybe he was just embarrassed from having Keith take care of him over Christmas. But no matter, because now - Lance had a new plan.

He couldn’t give Keith the best Christmas, so now he was shooting for an awesome New Year’s Eve. He could handle that, he’d just have to ignore the alcohol. He crept into the simulator room, a grin on his face as he walked over to it - only to find it shut off. He frowned. Keith wasn’t already in here? He straightened his back and rubbed his chin. Normally he’d find the other already here, it was strange that he wasn’t. Negative thoughts raced through Lance’s mind - what if he was sick? He wanted to give Keith a good New Year’s Eve, but if the other was sick, he couldn’t do that-

“What are you doing?”

Lance yelped, startled by Keith entering the room. He glowered at him and hit his shoulder. “Don’t do that!”

Keith’s eyes narrowed and he shoved Lance, making him fall on his ass. “Don’t hit me.”

Anger boiled inside of Lance as he lept up, shoving right back at Keith. “I could have hit my head, you dick!”

Keith huffed, crossing his arms. “What do you want, Lance?”

Lance grumbled before he focused, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “I wanted to know if you wanted to hang during New Year’s Eve.”

“Hang?”

“Yeah, hang out, y’know-”

Keith held up a hand. “I don’t appreciate being your charity case.”

Lance frowned. “Charity case? What the hell-”

“You did the same thing on Christmas, wanting to give me some sort of ‘good experience’ just because I don’t normally celebrate.”

Lance licked his bottom lip as his cheeks heated - thinking back to his drunken cry over wanting to give Keith a nice Christmas - it had seemed like him taking pity on Keith, trying to make up for Christmases past, but that wasn't the case now, dammit! He didn’t see it as a charity case. He… he actually didn’t want to be alone himself. He wanted to spend his holidays with some semblance of a friend and Keith had become just that. And as he looked at Keith, the thoughts of the previous days bouncing in his mind, a strange fondness that went beyond friendship bubbling in him. It was making his gut feel as if butterflies were flapping their wings, ricocheting up to his heart - making it throb. The truth of it all hit him and he felt embarrassed. He noticed Keith staring at him - as if demanding an explanation. Lance swallowed, feeling more nervous than before. He wanted to hang out with Keith, really wanted to.

“I’m sorry, I just…”

Keith sighed. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll hang out with you.”

“You will?”

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to be, besides, you’ll probably drag me with you anyways.”

Lance grinned, eyes twinkling. “Great! So meet me the in hall behind the cafeteria later, okay?”

Keith shrugged. He’d do it. What could go wrong?

::::

It was cold, that was the first thing Keith thought of when they climbed up the ladder to the roof. The wind hit his face the moment the door was opened and Keith glanced around, mildly surprised to see no one else up here. Lance breathed as he followed him up there, eyes widening at the sky. Keith glanced up too, noticing how brilliant the night sky looked from here. It was amazing. Lance pulled out his phone.

“We have ten minutes until the new year.”

“Yeah, then we have a couple of months to graduate flight school.”

Lance grinned. “We’ll still be stuck at the Garrison, but at least we’ll finally be fighter pilots!”

“More like I’ll be fighter class, you’ll be a cargo pilot.”

“What! How dare you.”

Keith laughed, something he found himself doing around Lance more often than not. It felt nice, being comfortable enough with someone to laugh with them. The last time he had felt that way was with an old friend, who was now too busy for him to see. He looked at the stars, smiling up at them.

“Got any resolutions?”

Keith shrugged. “Other than becoming the best fighter pilot? No.”

Lance sighed, leaning against the side of the fence, his eyes also focused on the stars above, but a nervous energy hanging around him as he resisted the urge to grab Keith's hand. His palms began to sweat. “Me too.”

Keith’s eyes found themselves leaving the stars in favor of Lance. He felt that suspicious sharpness in his belly, the heavy feeling in his chest. It was like when he had been kissed under the mistletoe and when he had smelled the sweater. His attraction to Lance was growing and he wasn’t sure if he could keep it at bay. He was never good at masking how he felt and he didn’t like to keep things like that hidden. He’d rather just let people know how he felt and get it over with - something a lot of people disliked but who cares what others think.

He watched puffs of breath leave Lance’s nose, visible in the cold air, then his eyes widened as Lance looked at him. “Five minutes to go!”

Keith felt the beginnings of a blush, the feel of Lance’s shoulders against his was a comforting warmth, but also a reminder of who he was with. He was sharing New Year’s Eve with Lance. The first person he’d see at the beginning of the New Year would be Lance… it all felt so intimate and it made his gut churn and churn. He looked at his watch - two minutes. He felt an impulsive fire blaze inside of him.

“Lance.”

“Hm?”

“You know how they say what you do on New Year’s you’ll be doing all year?”

Lance’s brow wrinkled for a moment before he grinned. “Maybe we should go confiscate a shi-”

Lance didn’t get to finish his sentence, because Keith had pulled him by the collar and mashed their lips together.

Keith’s heart pounded, keeping his lips pressed firmly to Lance’s, unsure how the other was taking it. His pinched eyes eased open to see Lance’s flutter shut. His eyes shutting was a good sign… right? Keith felt himself relax a bit, the kiss becoming a bit softer now - not a harsh press, but a gentle touch. Keith stiffened back up when he felt something wet on his lip, identifying it as Lance’s tongue. That sharpness in his belly returned as he opened his mouth, allowing Lance in.

Keith groaned softly into the kiss, breaking it briefly at the sound of the clock - ringing in the new year.

“Happy New Year.”

Lance didn’t respond, only cupped Keith’s cheek and brought their lips together again, kissing him harder this time, emotion pouring into the kiss. Keith drank in Lance’s groan, his lips sliding against Lance’s. Keith’s heart pounded as their bodies pressed close together, soaking up each other's warmth.

Lance broke this kiss this time.

“I hope I am doing that all year.”

Keith licked his now swollen lips, eyes soft and yielding as he looked at Lance, who looked so vulnerable right now - vulnerable as Keith knew he felt. He’d never felt like this and certainly hadn’t expected it to come from Lance, who he had always considered somewhat of a nuisance until he was around him enough.

Lance leaned in, kissing Keith’s cheek, then the other and then the corner of his mouth.

“I can’t keep my lips off of you now.”

“You don’t have to.”

Their lips slotted together again, the stars twinkling above them. Keith fisted Lance’s coat, trying to bring him as close as possible. Lance hummed, breaking the kiss, looking at Keith.

“I’m cold. Do you… do you want to go to my dorm? Not that I expect you to do anything. I’m not insinuating-”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Lance allowed himself a goofy grin as Keith took him by the hand and guided him back down into the building and headed into Lance’s dorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the remainder it's hinted heavily that Lance and Keith had a sexual moment; I tried to make it somewhat vague so you can think if it as they had a heavy makeout session, heavy petting, or more - whatever you like - interpretation is up to the reader! 
> 
> If you want to take that as they did the full horizontal, that's your choice. But it's implied they got frisky ;)


	7. Morning / Snuggle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this concludes my klancemas! Sorry to those who thought this was going to be some long thought out fic (??) or didn't like the pacing, etc - it was never meant to be anything other than a little drabble set that went together for this week challenge ^^ only so much you can accomplish in seven days!

When Hunk arrived early on January 1st, he had expected Lance to greet him. He was sure the other was lonely, as Lance had never really spent the holidays alone, but it was surprising to see Lance not even there to greet him. He carried in his bags, watching as other cadets did the same - more and more migrating back in to be ready for tomorrow. Hunk’s brow furrowed. He remembered Lance mentioning that he was actually talking to his long time rival - Keith. Had he pissed Keith off? Did Keith kill Lance while Hunk was away?

Those thoughts pounded through Hunk’s mind as he marched toward his shared dorm with Lance, wondering if he’d find an empty bed or worse - Lance’s corpse - long forgotten by all.

His hand shook as he put the key in the door, before he even turned it, he heard something from inside the room. A spring popping and a soft murmur. Relief flooded him.

Of course, he should have known - Lance wasn’t out to greet him because it was still early. Lance was sleeping. He smiled as he unlocked the door quietly, opening the door and letting himself in.

His gaze dropped down to the pair of shoes by the door, another pair right beside them. He tilted his head and then noticed a pair of pants, not far away, followed by another pair of pants… two shirts that lead to Lance’s bed. 

Hunk’s cheeks colored as he looked at Lance’s bed. Lance was asleep all right, but tucked into his arms was another sleeping person. And that sleeping person was none other than Keith himself. Hunk suddenly felt as if he had walked in on something sacred, his cheeks on fire as he noticed that Lance’s naked chest was pressed against Keith’s naked back and the way the blankets were lumped - their legs had to be tangled which meant Lance’s crotch was definitely pressed against Keith’s butt.

Oh my god.

He knew Lance said he was going to prove he was getting along with Keith now, but he hadn’t expected, well, _this_.

Hunk sucked in a breath as Lance, in his sleep presumably, started kissing Keith’s shoulder, snuggling against it. Keith’s lips quirked into a soft smile, shifting against Lance - obviously enjoying the kissing. Hunk took a few steps back, deciding he should just… maybe go…

“Good morning.”

He almost responded to Lance, but then he heard Keith do it for him - realizing Lance was talking to Keith and not him.

“Morning.”

Lance purred. “Sleep good?”

“Mm… other than your limbs all over me and your dick against my ass all night? Yeah, I guess.”

“Rude! You liked it.”

Keith chuckled, making Lance respond with his own, then he purred again - his voice coming out saccharine, flirty. Hunk blushed, not sure what he should do…

“You know what they say,” He voice sounded kind of mimicking. “What you do on New Years, you will do all year…”

Keith tutted, but then moaned and okay, Hunk had to clear his throat now - he couldn’t let them just… do whatever they were doing under the covers while he was here, oh god.

Keith jolted, practically leaping out of bed, Lance did the same - strangely covering his nipples. Hunk would have commented on if not for the hilarity of Lance’s voice, croaking out his name.

Keith seemed to relax slightly at that, but Lance’s whole face was on fire now.

“You’re back! Early!”

Hunk flushed, knowing that he had interrupted something. “Yeah! I text you, I thought you should know…”

“You did? Oh god, I didn’t even see it.”

“It’s okay! You were obviously… distracted…”

All three boys stared at each other until Hunk gave them a nervous smile. “You know what, I’m going to go to the cafeteria, maybe have some breakfast. It will take maybe about thirty minutes, okay? Okay.”

Hunk stumbled out and Lance groaned, his head hitting the pillow.

“I can’t believe Hunk saw this.”

“You were going to tell him anyways.”

“Well, yeah. But I didn’t want him to just waltz in on our sexy times.”

Keith huffed out a laugh, his brow raising. “Sexy times? This is hardly sexy times. This is… morning cuddling time.”

Lance hummed, relaxing back into Keith, looping his arms around Keith’s waist. “I still feel terrible for Hunk having to walk in on us.”

“You make it sound like he walked in on us playing out some nasty scene or something. We were sleeping and cuddling.”

“We were heading down dirty lane, you know we were.”

“Yeah, well, the mood is gone.”

“Aw! Come on, Hunk gave us this privacy, we should take advantage of it.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

Lance grinned, shifting closer to Keith, his breath ghosting over Keith’s ear. “You like it.”

Keith chuckled under his breath, bringing Lance's lips to his, kissing him softly, bringing the blankets back up around them.

:::::

“So, you and Keith…”

Lance sipped his coffee - a peace offering Hunk brought back with him. Keith had already left, the cold spot in his bed feeling wrong and lonely, but Hunk’s warm presence made him ignore it.

“Yep, we're a… thing.”

“What the heck happened while I was gone!?”

Lance smiled, holding his mug close. “We got to know each other and liked what we saw.”

Because really? Lance had always known if he'd just get to know Keith, he would like him. Maybe that's why he had been so defensive with him, so jealous… he had seen a lot of himself in Keith, but also so different. The two of them got along so well, and the attraction…

“Am I going to have to get use to this disgusting display?’

Lance laughed. “It's just getting started! I'm not even with Keith right now.”

Hunk laughed, muttering an ‘oh god’ but Lance was now thinking of Keith and of the warmth of his embrace. He breathed in deep, his soft eyes looking into the morning sun.

“Well, at least you’ve gotten over your silly fake rivalry.”

“Fake rivalry? Oh no, Keith is still my rival. We’ll still be neck and neck, we’ll just be… necking too.”

Hunk snorted, shaking his head. Lance raised his mug, eyes closing. “I’ll become a better pilot than Keith, just you wait.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Lance jumped slightly, his heart jumping as well - looking at Keith who had walked back in. Keith went to grab his jacket that he had left; Lance watched as his hips pitched forward as he leaned down to pick it up - making a fire roar inside of Lance. “Challenge accepted.”

Keith turned his head to Lance, amusement and determination on his face. “Oh really? Well, there is one more day left before classes start up again, the simulator is free.”

“You’re on!”

“You guys have been playing with the simulator all break, it needs a break too!” protested Hunk, but the two of them were already heading out of the room, their shoulders brushing as they walked too close together, aware of each other as they moved together, racing to compete against each other and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops caught a typo from a scene change ^^- sorry to those who saw it haha!


End file.
